Coming into this course I wasn't sure what to expect, but now, looking back, I'm very happy I signed up. The course was awesome. In the past two months my confidence in my writing, as well as myself, has increased tenfold. I feel a lot more comfortable with voicing an opinion, something I have always avoided. Analyzing a text in detial has become easier. Formatting an MLA style essay is cake. I sincerely mean it when I say that I will apply the skills I learned in this class.

Occasionaly I like to browse a website called Reddit. It`s a site where users submit links to funny pictures and engaging articles, original content as well as the odd Gangam style parody. A majority of this websites demographic is male, which is evident through posts about being Friendzoned by the girl of their dreams or Forever Alone. The memes have been run into the ground, but are easily ignorable and mostly mocked by the users. However, when someone linked this [LINK] photo to a Slut Walk in Brazil of a man flashing his penis at the crowds marching at the rally, all hell broke loose. Not only did the users jump to this mans defense, they actually glorified his actions saying the look of ``pure happiness`` on his face was worth being yelled at by an angry mob. `This is a story he`ll tell his grandkids`one user said. This thread made me really fucking angry. In what context is it EVER okay to flash your penis, let alone at a slut walk where the participants are marching for victims of rape and sexual harrassment. The fact that so many people could even justify what this man was doing absolutely disgusted and infuriated me. Some users even had the gall to say that the crowd should not have reacted with anger but should have just "laughed it off" and moved on. You know what? No. If someone chooses to sexually harass someone the victim can react however the hell they want, even with violence. This thread was an absolute clusterfuck of misogyny and anti-feminist ideology; like somehow women choosing to march against sexual harrassment was a threat. I could go on for hours about the impact this type of has on society, but I won't get into it now. Luckily there were users there to deride those who chose to degrade these women and glorify the man. But of the 9000 comments posted, most of them were were anti-victim. Reddit, the frontpage of the internet, totally let me down that day.

To effectively write an essay you need to sort your ideas and have a general plan for where you want your paper to go. Researching is important, as well as properly organizing your points so they have context within the the essay. If I had not planned out my essay the entire paper would have been a muddle of ideas with no real purpose. Properly planning an essay can help you come up with new and interesting ideas as well, ones that you can incorporate into the rest of your essay.

While I really, really like how users from different persuasions have formed a collective to review one anothers ideas, there's always the question of whether the information presented is factual and unbiased. Every once in a while you will hear of Wiki vandalism where a large number of users convene to change something on an article. While this is usually done as a prank (example: Tom Cruise is a Hubbard Fag), some inaccuracies in articles may not be detected for years and could misinform those who read it. With that said, I really love Wikipedia and what it's trying to do. It's helping to democracise knowledge through discussion that is usually reserved for the academic elites and intellectuals. Having opinions from different perspectives that are voiced in an online forum gives a clearer perspective on the subject, because with so many opinions, there is always something new to consider.

When I started this class my only goal was to learn how to use a comma. Well, I think I get it now, but there are times where I doubt not just my technical skills, but myself as well. I'm trying to work through some of the self-consciousness that I feel whenever I need to present something that I've written. The blog is helping, that's for sure, even though sometimes it feels like I need to grow some balls and press "save article" without having a full-fledged panic attack. I want to be able to manage my time a bit better and hand in things on time and ready to go. Teaching myself to write continuously rather than in short bursts is something I need to work on, which would also help with my time management skills. I'm happy with where I am in the class right now, but I also know there is still room for improvement.

This Lyric makes me picture someone who's life has come crashing down around them and now all they can do is sift around, looking for a fragment to piece themselves back together. It makes me feel sad, cause it's like this person doesn't have any clue as to which direction his life is going, and those filaments we're the things that were lighting the way.

Anyway, I chose "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel". This is the first like in William Gibson's novel "Neuromancer". I have been re-reading his books again, and to me, this line perfectly illustrates the grungy techno fetishism that runs through the novel. The world Gibsons characters live in is something of a dystopia, marred by poverty and overpopulation. Thinking about his stories taking place under a dark grey sky just feels so perfect and only adds to the aesthetic.

I re-read the articles and stories we were given, then wrote down any ideas they gave me. I also looked over some of the things I had written in response to these articles so I would have an idea of where I wanted to go with the major assigment. I tried to form an idea around some of the quotes that were given based on what I had learned from the articles. Right now everything is in point form, just so I have a sense of where I want to go with the essay. But it's getting there. Going over the MLA format and practicing with it has also helped in giving me an idea on how my thoughts will be organized and how they will build on one another to give my essay sense.

I didn't prepare as well as I wanted to for the oral portion of the representation assignment. Although I had an idea of WHAT I wanted to say, it wasn't fully thought out and it showed through my body language and the "Umms" and "aghhs" and "you knows" that dotted my speech while I scrambled over what to say next. Next time I can think about HOW I want to communicate my ideas orally, then practice and refine my presentation before I present it to my audience.

An example of critical thinking for me would be when a customer wants to put together an outfit and asks me for help. I must make a snap judgment based on what they are already wearing, take into account their body shape, weight and height, then determine what would work for them. It's a trial and error process; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. WIth every customer you learn something new regarding shape, personal preference and fit.

I think it helps later on in life. Having critical thinking skills as an adult is important for analyzing major decisions or using them when entering the workforce.

I ended up going with the “sushi of the future is Insects” article. For the writing variables project I made a cookbook detailing the many ways bugs can be prepared and incorporated into a meal.

A cookbook seemed like a good way to start marketing bugs as a meal to a wider audience who may not have been exposed to the Macleans article. Many of the meals in my cookbook were variations on a recipes that were relatively familiar, but with bugs replacing a key ingredient.

The language I used for my cookbook was very straight forward and to the point. The language needed to be easy to read and decipher since every step in a recipe is important, and adding an extra tablespoon of something could ruin your dish.